After two months abroad -- in Costa Rica I’m happy to report -- I’ve made my return to Howell Farm. This morning I strolled down the familiar farm lane eager to observe what was just the same as when I left and what had changed while away. -The ducks were still stealing corn out of the corn crib. -A horse in harness waited outside the barn, ready for the morning’s work. -I spotted evidence of the recent ice harvest. This year’s harvest was completed very carefully on thin ice, Farmer Rob explained: two-and-a-half inches. Usually the farmers feel comfortable with at least four inches beneath their feet. -Farmer Gary updated me on the season’s maple sugaring activities. So far, about 11 gallons of finished syrup have been produced. Sap has stopped running for the moment, but should resume once daytime temperatures climb back up above freezing. -Today is the first day of the farm’s maple sugaring program for visiting school children. They won’t have any buckets to collect full of tree sap, but there’s still plenty of work for them hauling wood, sawing wood, and learning the finer points of evaporation technology. -The cover crop in the kitchen garden remains a blanket of green. -A new fence has been constructed around the chicken house. -The winter manure pile, as always, looks formidable.

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The Furrow is the online newsletter of The Friends of Howell Living History Farm. We will be updating this site about once a week with crop reports and other insights into life on a horse-drawn living history farm.